Autograph
by RaeEcho
Summary: Captain America isn't the only one lost in time.
1. Chapter 1

A/N- I'm just going to tell you somethings you need to know before reading this. 1. Hades restored Nico's memories after the Titan War. Don't ask how, because I haven't thought about it. 2. Occurs before the Heroes of Olympus series and after the the Avengers defeat Loki. 3. I picture Bianca's hat as a big green ball cap. 4. Enjoy!

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**_Sunday, August 8, 1943 - Nico_**

_"Please!" Bianca whined, her small hands gripping their mother's hand excitedly. She was practically begging for their mother's attention. Nico didn't understand why she was making such a fuss. He had noticed that their mother had been watching her eldest child out of the corner of her eye for the past three minutes. Couldn't she see that she was asking for something she already had?_

_"I don't know, Darling." Maria said, her voice was playful, and if his sister wasn't so worked up, she may have noticed. However, Bianca was still tugging away and putting on her most pitiful face. Nico rolled his eyes at both their antics. How could Bianca keep claiming she was the older one? He was nine and he still acted more mature than her. Shouldn't that mean he was older?_

_"Oh please!" Bianca cried. Nico knew that their mother was going to give in soon. He could never figure out how his sister did it, but with a flash of those eyes and a few words, she could get whatever she wanted. It wasn't fair. He had tried the same technique a few hours prior, but did he get to stay in his room and listen to the outcome of the game between the Pirates and Cardinals? No, he was being dragged into town to buy a new pair of shoes. Today was not his lucky day._

_"Did you ask your brother what he wants to do?" Maria asked innocently. "I think I'll let him decide." Her eyes darted to him and he smiled up at her. His mother was nothing if but fair, but on the other side of that, she had directed Bianca's attention to him. She played her move well. Now that she was no longer being pulled around by her daughter, she could pay for the eye sore shoes she help Bianca and himself pick out._

_He took back what he said about his mother being fair. She was down right sneaky._

_"Oh please, Nico." Bianca said, almost tackling him in a hug. "I promise to play as many games of that silly card game with you as much as you want."_

_"Really?" He asked bewildered. His sister never wanted to play with him._

_"As long as you don't cheat."_

_"I do not cheat!"_

_"Making up rules as you go counts as cheating."_

_"I do not-"_

_"Children!" Their mother snapped, effectively ending their argument in it's tracks. "So, what will it be Nico?"_

_"Please, Nico, he's only here for one night!" Bianca interjected before he could talk. "Please."_

_Nico considered his options carefully. If he said no, he could catch the final score on the game. Looking at his sister's pleading face, he knew what he wanted to do, and what his mother had raised him to do. She was testing him, and the consequences of failing would be the guilt he would have to live with forever. Plus, he might make Bianca cry if he said no. He didn't have a lot of friends, and he didn't feel like earning Bianca resentment as well. He loved her too much._

_"Okay. We can go."_

_The smiles he received from his mother and sister were well worth the sacrifice of his baseball scores. He could always find out later. He made his sister happy. __She did so much for him, ranging from helping with his math work to sneaking him dessert under the dinner table, and in one instance, picking him up a new radio when his got busted. It had taken her weeks to save the money for it._

_He was going to help Bianca get Captain America's autograph, It was the least he could do._

_"Well then. Come along. If we're going to catch the show we better leave now." His mother instructed. Then moving as only a mother could do, she hoisted the shopping bag over one shoulder, and grabbed both his and Bianca's hands in one of hers._

_The three of them, side by side, walked down the sidewalk of Las Vegas. The conversations between them were relaxed, but it would be hard not to feel the excitement in the air. The crowd seemed to grow around them a they neared the casino hosting the national hero. The energy surrounding the small family felt like it was bouncing off the people around them, amplifying it._

_The lights around them flashed and lit their faces as they made their way into the casino in the growing darkness of the evening. The sparkling white tile of the entrance slowly transformed into the plush red carpets of the casino's lobby. Wall hangings indicated the next week's events hung around them, and Nico was suddenly overwhelmed by the shear number of things to look at. It was his first adventure into a gambling hall._

_"Nico." His mother said gently, giving his arm a tug. "This way." she instructed, and Nico let himself be pulled along. He was clinging tight to his mother, the crowd was starting to make him nervous. He wasn't a fan of large gatherings._

_Bianca, on the other hand, appeared to be thriving. She was even so excited and her stride was so upbeat, her ponytail swung back and forth under her green cap with every step. It was so swishy, for like of a better term, that as they entered the darkened room holding the stage, he swore a small breeze was coming from it. Nico even heard his mother chuckle at the sight as she handed a short man dressed in a soldier costume their tickets._

_Then a thought struck him._

_Looking up at his mother he tugged on her hand to get her attention._

_With a smile she looked back. "Yes, Nico?"_

_"When did we get tickets?"_

_"Can I tell you a secret?" She asked, and Nico eagerly nodded, happy to be included. "Your father and I bought them weeks ago."_

_Nico felt his mouth drop open at the knowledge, but he quickly shut it so he wouldn't alert Bianca. This was her day. It didn't matter that he hadn't been the deciding vote in their plans. Bianca was happy, and she was finally going to get her hero's autograph._

_It was only too bad that Captain America was too busy to notice the young girl who wanted his attention. _

_It was only too bad that he didn't have time to sign her hat._

_It was only too bad that Captain America broke his biggest fan's heart._

* * *

**Thursday, May 3rd, 2012 - Nico**

The city was in ruins. Nico knew this better than anyone. He had been in the outskirts of the fray taking down every monster that came his way. His sword pierced right through the primitive armor, and regrettably, blood stained his sword. It would be a pain to clean later, but at least he wasn't dead. He was battle worn and looking like the Underworld warmed over, but alive nonetheless.

It was weird how everything seemed to happen to New York, and even though the monsters were gone, Nico refused to put his sword away. The mortals could think what they wanted, he was going to stay as armed as he could. After all, he had just been jumped by a large monster thing while walking down the street. Gods only know what could happen next.

However, Nico was pretty sure that one way or another, his day was going to start getting worse than it already was.

With a sigh, Nico turned Bianca's green cap backwards on his head. The bill kept slipping down over his eyes while he was fighting. He wished he would grow into it like he had with his aviator's jacket, but it seemed like no matter how big he got, the hat got bigger as well. Maybe it was Bianca's way of reminding him that he was still the little brother.

A smile graced his lips as he thought of his sister. His bitterness had all but disappeared over the years. However, what hadn't disappeared was the stream of damaged caused by what he would guess was an 'alien invasion?' Things just continued to get weirder and weirder as the years passed. Shaking his head to rid himself of the possibilities to what could occur next, he started to jog to what was the epicenter of the event.

The old saying, curiosity killed the cat, came to mind as he jumped over corpses and slid across the hoods of cars that were parked in his way. He knew that there was a big possibility he wasn't going to like what he found there, but the lure of adventure was pulling him in. He had nothing better to do than find some danger and jump head first into it.

Getting closer to the center, Nico noticed a severe increase in monsters. All of which were pouring out of a portal in the sky. Despite the sudden science fiction twist his day had taken, he smiled. Readying himself and rolling his armored shoulders, he lunged into the action.

His sword shined as he sliced into flesh and he could feel the power draining into him. Unfamiliar souls pouring out of their bodies into his sword was like a fresh of breath of air. Since the war had ended, he hadn't been fighting large scale enough for his taste. He had been dying for some action.

A crash pulled him from his gleeful killing spree. His ears ached under the strain of the noise. Whatever that sound was, it was close. Looking around himself for the source, his heart almost stopped. A building was about to collapse on top of him, and ridding the destruction appeared to be a green monster sitting atop an alien whale.

His day was taking the gold for being the strangest ever.

The monster kept pounding the whale into submission and with each stroke of his giant fists, the whale sunk deeper into the building. Nico could hear screams coming from inside the building. They were almost as bad as the buzzing in his ears, alerting him that souls were being sent to his father's realm. The combination of the two was doing little to help his concentration. He was starting to stumble under the pressure.

The building was almost halfway when he finally came to his senses.

Nico started running. The building's shadow encased him as the destruction fell closer, and not breaking his stride, he pulled the shadows towards him. The familiar feeling of his face being pulled off greeted him like a friend as he shadow traveled away from what would've been his death. But just before the shadows took him away, he knew he had picked up a parting gift. A parting gift that had happily implanted itself into his stomach.

As much pain as he was in, Nico pressed on. He would've liked to say that he left the shadows the same way he entered, like a badass. Instead he stumbled, ending up on his stomach. "Damn." He cursed. His vision blurred. He could feel blood start to leak through the front of his shirt. His landing had left something to be desired, and he knew he had one hell of a wound on his stomach. Consciousness was fading fast, and Nico briefly wondered if his father was going to kill him for dying so soon.

But then again, he didn't really care. He was already out like a light.

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A/N- More to come, but a fast updater I am not.

Feed the idea gnome. Leave a review.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N- Hey everybody! I have returned! Now, on with the story!

Oh, and kitsune738, don't die... That would make me very much sad.

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**Sunday, August 8, 1943 - Steve Rogers**

_The crowd was still screaming, chanting his name after he had left the stage, and Steve honestly didn't know what to do with himself. Even though he was no stranger to his new line of work, the number of Las Vegas citizens who showed up to see his performance was staggering. God help his poor eardrums. He swore one of them started bleeding when the auditorium's volume reached an all-time high at the moment his fist made fake contact to Hitler's jaw._

_"Mr. Rogers. The autograph booth is all set and ready to go." A voice called behind him, pulling him out of his thoughts, and the blond man, still in costume, rose to his full height and stared down at the mouse like man in front of him, or as he was better known as, the venue's manager._

_"Can we just skip on the autographs this time?" He pleaded, resisting the urge to rub his temples. He wasn't the best at math, but he knew that if he got a headache while his ears were still ringing, it would equal disaster. He could not afford to jump into the chaos of the crowd once more. He would most likely end up doing something he would regret._

_"Fraid not, sir. We got a quota to met ya' see? We charge a pretty penny for those scribbles of yours, and the more of 'em we sell, the higher the prophet."_

_Steve groaned, "Shouldn't we have made plenty of profit on the ticket sells alone?"_

_The man's greedy eyes bulged. "Mr. Rogers, there's no such thing as plenty o' profit. And even if there were, we could always do with more." The man stated firmly, and Steve could see it in the beady eyes of the smaller man that their would be no convincing him to reconsider. Beside, the little slime ball probably had already talked his manager into it, meaning that if he said no, there would be hell to pay later._

_"Lead the way." Steve growled, and the man's face broke out into a grin, and he didn't hesitate to lead him down the dimly lit hallway._

_"You won't regret this Mr. Rogers," the man explained as he led Steve to a pair of wooden double doors, complete with a fancy, golden-colored handle, "I talked to your manager earlier this evenin' and ya' know what he told me? He said the he'd be takin' half the profit and sliptin' his half with ya'. That'll pay for a good night on the town!" The man said with enthusiasm, but Steve could hear in his voice about what he thought about splitting the profit with his manager. The greed of them both made him queasy. This was what he had been reduced to? This was the soldier he had become?_

_But it didn't matter, because the venue manager had already swung the door open and pushed Steve out into the crowd._

_Steve was frozen. Flashes of light were everywhere. Noises engulfed him like a tidal wave, and he could feel the heat of the crowd pushing in on him from all directions. He knew that the autograph table would be somewhere to his left, but he couldn't pick his feet up, let alone move. He was paralyzed as the crowd swarmed him. He couldn't breath, it was like he suddenly developed claustrophobia in three seconds flat. He had to get out and quickly._

_His body went on autopilot, and he felt his hands push people out of his way. He was like a a caged animal fleeing from its entrapment. Some part of him was holding onto an ounce of self control though, because, despite his rough treatment of the crowd, none of them had went flying across the room. He was almost free, he could feel it._

_However, that's when he saw her. A little girl, no older than thirteen was standing by the doors that led to his freedom. A smile lit up her olive-toned face, and her black hair was tied back in a ponytail. But what caught Steve's attention was her black-brown eyes. They were the darkest eyes he had ever seen in his life._

_Then he took a closer look. In her hands, she was clutching a worn green hat and a pen. He knew what she wanted, but he could not give it to her._

_Only pausing by her for a second, he said, "Sorry kid, no autographs." Before he stormed out the door, but not fast enough to where he didn't catch the devastated look on her face._

_One thing was for certain, Steve Rogers would never forget that little girl's eyes._

_Nor would he forget that hat._

* * *

**Thursday, May 3rd, 2012 - Steve Rogers**

The damage from the battle was astounding. They may have won the battle for Earth, but New York City had become a zone of pure destruction. Buildings had been collapsed, debris coated the streets, and cars were being found in places ranging from the tops of buildings to inside mostly undamaged offices. How that happened baffled him, but if he had to place his bet on how it happened, he would guess that the Hulk, at one point, had himself a nice, good tantrum. That must have been the reason, Bruce was ready to collapse in exhaustion last time Steve saw him.

Heck, Steve was ready to collapse exhaustion.

However, he couldn't bring himself to stop his current job. After being first on the rescue scene after the aliens disappeared, he appointed himself to organizing some of the emergency response teams. People were still trapped under the rubble, and he be dammed if stopped to rest while they needed his help. After all, he helped make their home the way it was.

"Cap. Let it go. We need to report back to S.H.I.E.L.D pronto." The familiar nagging of his fellow Avengers reached his ears once more.

"I can't leave yet, Stark. There's still people trapped out there." He snapped back at his best friend's son. He didn't have time to worry about Fury or his organization that had been practically holding him hostage since he had been de-iced. Let alone sit through a meeting that could just as easily be held without his presence. He was a soldier and soldiers helped people. He knew that his time could be spent more effectively where he was. "My time is better spent here. End of discussion." He said, stating his final thought out loud.

Steve had hoped that Stark would leave it at that, and just take his answer how he gave it. He should have known better than to assume that the billionaire would drop the subject. It appeared that by saying the words 'end of discussion' that would just make him feel like he'd been offered a challenge.

"First of all, we just saved the world together, call me Tony. Secondly, you can play knight in shining armor later. As much as I hate to admit it, we need to leg it before the press shows up." Tony insisted. "You've been out here for hours, and you've done good, but its time to call it a day. The police can only do so much before the reporters start crawling out of their bunkers."

"Not yet St-Tony. There's a few more out there, and I have to help them." Steve said, and he felt a metal encased hand land on his shoulder. He resisted the urge to shrug it off. There was no way he could leave the mess in front of him. The covered street they stood on was one of many. He had to help.

"There's always going to be one more. You can't save everyone, believe me, I know." Tony said grimly, and Steve could hear the grief in his voice. "It's quittin' time Rogers. You need rest, food, and to be interrogated over every decision you've made in the last twenty-four hours." He said sarcastically.

Steve sighed, he knew Tony was right. Especially about the hunger and being tired. After all, he was starting agree with Tony of all people, if that wasn't proof of insanity through sleep deprivation, he didn't know what was.

"It's Steve." He mumbled.

"Awesome." Tony smiled, "Hey, and with any luck, we'll be able to grab some shwarma on the way-" Tony rambled on, and Steve let his words fly in one ear and out the other as he let the younger man guide him through the destroyed streets to wherever they were going. Steve wasn't really paying attention to their destination. He was too lost in his own brain dead state.

"_Son of a bitch._"

"What did you say?" Steve snapped, looking at Ironman in shock. He knew that language was different in this time, but saying things like that out of the blue threw him for a loop.

"I said, I wonder if the tower could use an extra pool." Tony repeated with a confused expression on his face.

"Nevermind." Steve cut him off, he could have sworn he heard-

"_Help me._" The voice called again more clearly.

This time he knew he heard it. "Wait." Steve whispered, pulling away from Tony's hold on his shoulder with ease.

"Steve, what's going on?"

Steve ignored him, and continued searching for the source of the voice. Scanning his eyes around his surroundings he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The street hadn't changed since the last wave of emergency response had gone through it looking for survivors. "I swear I heard something."

"You sure your time in the ice hasn't cooled down your brain, Cap-Sickle? Could be your imagination."

Steve shook his head, "I don't think so." He said, and ignoring Tony for the most part, Steve crept forward as quietly as he could, hoping to hear any indication of the voice's presence. All he needed was one more sound and he could find the source. He would be prepared for it this time.

"Cap-"

"Be quiet, Stark!" He yelled, and the two fell into complete silence.

Minutes passed and not a sound was heard. Steve was starting to doubt himself a little. He was so sure that he had heard someone. Maybe Tony was right. Maybe he was just imaging things.

"_H-help._" Steve's eyes widened and darted to the mouth of an alley only a few yards away. Metal sheets appeared to have fallen all around the area, as well as chucks of drywall and a few bricks. He knew that's where the voice was coming from. Steve couldn't help thinking, _I knew it._

Steve wasted no time slipping into action. Once again becoming the Captain America the world was familiar with, he jogged to the alley, and using that momentum, he began throwing pieces of the rubble to the opposite side of the street. In a matter of seconds he reached the bottom of the junk pile, and what he found startled him.

Staring back at him were a familiar pair of black-brown eyes and a green hat that brought back memories of a time long ago he had tried so hard to forget.

"Steve, what are-"

"Tony! Get paramedics! There's a kid here!"

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A/N- There. A nice warm up to get me into the swing of things once more.


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